diff --git a/lib/mrsk/commander.rb b/lib/mrsk/commander.rb
index 7b3af31f..94c0aff2 100644
--- a/lib/mrsk/commander.rb
+++ b/lib/mrsk/commander.rb
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@ class Mrsk::Commander
   private
     # Lazy setup of SSHKit
     def configure_sshkit_with(config)
+      SSHKit::Backend::Netssh.pool.idle_timeout = config.sshkit_pool_idle_timeout
       SSHKit::Backend::Netssh.configure do |sshkit|
         sshkit.max_concurrent_starts = config.sshkit_max_concurrent_starts if config.sshkit_max_concurrent_starts
         sshkit.ssh_options = config.ssh_options
diff --git a/lib/mrsk/configuration.rb b/lib/mrsk/configuration.rb
index df389158..d6badbf3 100644
--- a/lib/mrsk/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/mrsk/configuration.rb
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ class Mrsk::Configuration
   end
 
   def ssh_options
-    { user: ssh_user, proxy: ssh_proxy, auth_methods: [ "publickey" ] }.compact
+    { user: ssh_user, proxy: ssh_proxy, auth_methods: [ "publickey" ], keepalive: true, keepalive_interval: 30 }.compact
   end
 
 
@@ -161,6 +161,15 @@ class Mrsk::Configuration
     raw_config.sshkit["max_concurrent_starts"] if raw_config.sshkit.present?
   end
 
+  def sshkit_pool_idle_timeout
+    if raw_config.sshkit.present?
+      raw_config.sshkit["pool_idle_timeout"] || 900
+    else
+      900
+    end
+  end
+
+
   def healthcheck
     { "path" => "/up", "port" => 3000, "max_attempts" => 7 }.merge(raw_config.healthcheck || {})
   end
diff --git a/test/configuration_test.rb b/test/configuration_test.rb
index e635cd04..47eee321 100644
--- a/test/configuration_test.rb
+++ b/test/configuration_test.rb
@@ -226,7 +226,13 @@ class ConfigurationTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   test "sshkit max concurrent starts" do
     config = Mrsk::Configuration.new(@deploy.tap { |c| c.merge!(sshkit: { "max_concurrent_starts" => 50 }) })
-    assert_equal 50, @config.sshkit_max_concurrent_starts
+    assert_equal 50, config.sshkit_max_concurrent_starts
+  end
+
+  test "sshkit pool idle timeout" do
+    assert_equal 900, @config.sshkit_pool_idle_timeout
+    config = Mrsk::Configuration.new(@deploy.tap { |c| c.merge!(sshkit: { "pool_idle_timeout" => 600 }) })
+    assert_equal 600, config.sshkit_pool_idle_timeout
   end
 
   test "volume_args" do
@@ -271,7 +277,22 @@ class ConfigurationTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   end
 
   test "to_h" do
-    assert_equal({ :roles=>["web"], :hosts=>["1.1.1.1", "1.1.1.2"], :primary_host=>"1.1.1.1", :version=>"missing", :repository=>"dhh/app", :absolute_image=>"dhh/app:missing", :service_with_version=>"app-missing", :env_args=>["-e", "REDIS_URL=\"redis://x/y\""], :ssh_options=>{:user=>"root", :auth_methods=>["publickey"]}, :volume_args=>["--volume", "/local/path:/container/path"], :builder=>{}, :logging=>["--log-opt", "max-size=\"10m\""], :healthcheck=>{"path"=>"/up", "port"=>3000, "max_attempts" => 7 }}, @config.to_h)
+    expected_config = \
+      { :roles=>["web"],
+        :hosts=>["1.1.1.1", "1.1.1.2"],
+        :primary_host=>"1.1.1.1",
+        :version=>"missing",
+        :repository=>"dhh/app",
+        :absolute_image=>"dhh/app:missing",
+        :service_with_version=>"app-missing",
+        :env_args=>["-e", "REDIS_URL=\"redis://x/y\""],
+        :ssh_options=>{ :user=>"root", :auth_methods=>["publickey"], keepalive: true, keepalive_interval: 30 },
+        :volume_args=>["--volume", "/local/path:/container/path"],
+        :builder=>{},
+        :logging=>["--log-opt", "max-size=\"10m\""],
+        :healthcheck=>{ "path"=>"/up", "port"=>3000, "max_attempts" => 7 }}
+
+    assert_equal expected_config, @config.to_h
   end
 
   test "min version is lower" do
diff --git a/test/integration/main_test.rb b/test/integration/main_test.rb
index cc7f8bbb..521661bd 100644
--- a/test/integration/main_test.rb
+++ b/test/integration/main_test.rb
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ class MainTest < IntegrationTest
     assert_equal "app-#{version}", config[:service_with_version]
     assert_equal [], config[:env_args]
     assert_equal [], config[:volume_args]
-    assert_equal({ user: "root", auth_methods: [ "publickey" ] }, config[:ssh_options])
+    assert_equal({ user: "root", auth_methods: [ "publickey" ], keepalive: true, keepalive_interval: 30 }, config[:ssh_options])
     assert_equal({ "multiarch" => false, "args" => { "COMMIT_SHA" => version } }, config[:builder])
     assert_equal [ "--log-opt", "max-size=\"10m\"" ], config[:logging]
     assert_equal({ "path" => "/up", "port" => 3000, "max_attempts" => 7, "cmd" => "wget -qO- http://localhost > /dev/null" }, config[:healthcheck])